Where it all started

Well, this is our back porch. Empty of all my crap. I personally enjoyed the warm living space but Neil felt it was a little crowded and a few too many design themes going on at once. Before you crucify him, I chose to empty it. I went willingly but I don't know how long it may take to get it redecorated. The big problem will probably be getting neil and I to agree. So, here's the long story. We were going to tear into our basement and finish the demolition that I started a year ago. WEll, my dad's truck was in the shop getting the transmission fixed. Therefore, we were unable to tear into the basement and start the demolition. So, we went on other errands. WE ended up at the attic window and Neil saw a barber chair he liked. Despite what Neil may have thought, I didn't think it would fit in with my decorating. I thought what if we change the entire theme. We started out with gusto and ended with this (the picture). Who knows where it will all end.

The Demolished Basement

Well, this weekend the weather was good so we borrowed someone's truck and dug into finishing the demolition that I started a year ago. Evidently the spring is a dangerous place in our house- if we get bored or have some extra time on our hands -watch out! We didn't realize the dump closed at noon on Saturday so we had to park all the junk in the garage for a couple days. On Monday Neil and I took the stuff to the dump and pulled another load out of the basement and took it. I told Neil if I ever want to go shopping - just take me to the dump. It just seems unreal the amount of crap we have, doesn't it? So, here is our basement now. Who knows how long it will stay this way but Neil felt it got us one step closer to fixing it and I'm used to living in transition. I lived in a house for over 15 years while my dad was remodeling it. We'll see how long it takes us to finish our basement.

Ended in a Mountain of Laundry

This is how it all ended. Because the basement was such a mess and all torn up, I couldn't do laundry. I usually do it on Sunday or Monday. I've gotten into a bad habit of doing it only once a week. This is a week's worth of our family's laundry and I think I still had 2 more loads to do. :)

The Never Ending Pet

You may or may not know that Neil is allergic to cats. Well, around Thanksgiving my parents were given a kitten to take out to their farm. Neil and Taylor happened to stop by my parent's place of business the day mom received the cat. Taylor convinced Neil to take the cat to our house- just overnight. We were going to take it out to my parents the next day when we went to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. Well, the cat disappeared within 10 minutes of being at our house. The kids were absolutely distraught! They thought their grandma would be so upset with them. The cat did not come back for 2 days. Well, the cat was so small and cute we were afraid it wouldn't survive on my parents' farm thru the winter so we decided to keep it on our back porch. Well, it is now Spring and Neil is more than tired of the cat - especially when he wakes up almost every morning to find it exploring our house. Taylor lets the cat in in the morning when she's getting ready for school. He feels no one cares about his asthma and extreme allergies to cats. Today we decided it was time for it to go to my parents' farm. Well. . . the best laid plans of mice and men . . . We trapped the cat last night, went to church this morning, came home to get the cat and bam - the cat had escaped. This may be our cat forever. I don't know. But for now our plans are foiled. We'll see how long the cat lasts - or outlasts us.

This is coloring Easter eggs at B's house in Indianapolis. In case you're not familiar with the name B - that is what my children and my niece and nephew call Neil's mom. The kids and I went down to Indy on Friday since we had the day off from school. It was a great time and of courser we continued our long time tradition of coloring easter eggs. Another of the traditions is coloring a brown egg for Neil - because that's what he does when he's involved in the coloring. Colbey's hands we quite colored as well. Wesley said this is the greatest lunch ever and he could eat it every day. B is very accommodating with the children which is wonderful. We had hot dogs, chips, veggies and dip, fruit salad and macaroni and cheese. Who could resist that? Kid or adult? We had a nice Easter.

Mom's Flowers

These are flowers from our backyard. On Thursday evening, Dad and I picked these flowers for Mom. Aren't they beautiful! Mom is so blessed to have us in her family! She loved them. She'll probably keep them forever. Even when they're dead!

Posted by Taylor :)

Spookley

Jaelen had to do a project for school. It was an edible book. He chose the book Spookley the Square Pumpkin. He did a great job. Mom had to help him. The cake was really good! The green stuff up there tastes like puke. It's edible, but gross.

Posted by Taylor, again :)

Taylor's Band Concert

Taylor had her band concert on Tuesday, April 6th. She plays the clarinet. She is an awesome player! Her band has done a great job throughout the year. Doesn't she look thrilled(she is the one in the middle). The concert was actually a contest. They were being graded on how they played. Her school has participated in band contests for every grade. They haven't gotten anything lower than a gold medal in over 15 years. Good job 6th band! Like I said before, Taylor is an awesome player. Rachel Jordan(on the left), is the best, so Taylor is the second best.

Posted by Taylor :)

Taylor's Band Concert

Get R Done

Well, we're finally getting some work done around here. You know how you have projects either written on a list or just constantly being elongated in your mind? Well, I don't even remember when one of the kids feet went thru their bedroom wall. We were the ones who built the lofts and then hung the hammock. Could we have even imagined that our precious little angels would use it as a jungle gym and see how many of them they could pile in at one time?! And then see how high they could swing them? Would they possibly be able to go all the way around without falling out? Oh, I'd say we expected it but I'm not so sure I anticipated the hole in the wall. When they bent the eyebolt that held the hammock (from all the weight), it was a good chance to remove it from the room and remove the chance of any further holes or a largening of the current hole. All that to say, we finally got around to fixing it this weekend. Neil got us going. Way to go! He said he realized how much time we all waste when he watched the kids last week while Taylor and I were away. Now the painting was another story. We decided to do a little "updating" to their tree house. It's still in progress but I think the kids enjoyed the work.

The New Grill

Here's the new grill. We did cook ribs on Sunday but we borrowed the smoker from the church. They weren't cooked on this beauty but we have broke it in a couple times. And Dyllan and I almost literally broke it. We dropped it trying to carry it up to the deck. Neil decided to help me even though it probably exceeded his 20lb limit. That was the only way that grill was making it up to our porch.

Taylor's Spring Break

Taylor and I went away overnight to Cincinnati, OH over her spring break. I think she really had a great week overall. She was able to help me in babysitting, play a lot with Colbey (since he's the only one still home half day), spend the day "working" with Grandma Penny at her store, take our trip, and end the week getting to stay with Grandma B & Papaw as well as visit with Aunt Donna and her cousin, Loren. I think it turned out to be a pretty fun and busy week even if she didn't go anywhere amazing. She got to spend her time with amazing people, right!? Here are a few pics of our time in Cincinnati. The pictures are really taken in Newport,KY where the aquarium is. It's right across the river from Cincinnati. I think we accidentally deleted the better picture of me sitting by the sign, but oh well. The ice cream was from Cold Stone Creamery and it's the first time Taylor remembers eating there. The first and only other time was with our wonderful friend, Linda Hunt, when she came to visit us at LT in Colorado. We picked her up from the airport and stopped in Boulder, CO and had ice cream. That will be 4 years ago this summer. So, I can't blame Taylor if she doesn't remember. It was so delicious. That turned out to be our lunch. The picture of the tree just is what it is. It was so pretty. lots of things were starting to bloom there. I don't think my picture does it justice.